Austrian police has caught and arrested an organized crime group suspected of smuggling nuclear materials in Vienna.
Together with the General Police Inspectorate of The Republic of Moldova (National Investigative Inspectorate) and coordinated and supported by the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol), the joint mission culminated in the arrest of three individuals in Vienna. Two of them had criminal records, and one of them had been already convicted for a similar crime in the past.
The cooperation, that included transnational investigative measures, targeted a group of criminals when they attempted to sell nuclear container which allegedly contained radiological material to an army for €3 million.
Europol deployed an expert on-the-spot to support the analysis of the material and provided analytical and coordination support.
The European Police Office asses trafficking in nuclear and radiological materials as a potential risk to internal security and has thus stepped up operations to secure such material.
